Huguenot Schoolhouse anniversary fete this weekend

A schoolhouse made into a museum must have a celebration when it reaches its 150th anniversary, as has the 1863 Huguenot Schoolhouse, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.

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By Jessica Cohen

recordonline.com

By Jessica Cohen

Posted Sep. 20, 2013 at 9:39 AM

By Jessica Cohen

Posted Sep. 20, 2013 at 9:39 AM

If you go

The 1863 Huguenot Schoolhouse Sesquicentennial Open House will be from noon-5 p.m. Saturday and 1-5 p.m. Sunday at 25 Grange Road, Huguenot. For more information, call 856-2182.

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If you go

The 1863 Huguenot Schoolhouse Sesquicentennial Open House will be from noon-5 p.m. Saturday and 1-5 p.m. Sunday at 25 Grange Road, Huguenot. For more information, call 856-2182.

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A schoolhouse made into a museum must have a celebration when it reaches its 150th anniversary, as has the 1863 Huguenot Schoolhouse, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.

So bring out the tiny tarts, cider and 1863 artifacts, which is what Town of Deerpark historian Norma Schadt will be doing Saturday and Sunday.

In tandem, the Grange next door will have a World War II-themed exhibit, complete with period-appropriate music and food.

A display compiled by Lynn Burns will include items that suggest what life was like in 1863, from the Emancipation Proclamation and Gettysburg Address to household goods and modern art, which emerged at that time, as did the patent for innerspring mattresses.

"The D&H Canal was at its peak then," Schadt said. "People came from New York for mineral baths at the hotel, which was considered good for health. We have pictures of mineral springs and kids at school."

Most exhibit pieces have been donated. Catherine Westfall announced a need for clothes and received a deluge of wedding dresses, many trimmed with satin, lace, and tiny buttons down the back, some with long trains.

"One thing's for sure," Schadt said. "Those women had tiny waists. I'm surprised they could breathe. No wonder they passed out all the time."

Victorian women squeezed into whalebone corsets that deformed their ribs into a funnel shape Schadt has seen in medical books.

"Like the Chinese do to their feet," she said.

For the World War II exhibit, war posters will be supplied by Schadt's husband, Willard, from his father's collection, along with information about the background of each artist, which he researched.

And Keith and Nancy Peters of Matamoras, Pa., brought original sketches of servicemen in the hospital, done by Ann Schabbehar.

"She spent her time drawing portraits of wounded men in Army and Navy hospitals," Schadt said of the artist. "She had been a professional fashion artist whose work was in leading magazines, including Good Housekeeping, Women's Home Companion, Vogue, House and Garden, and Mademoiselle. She had joined the forces of Uncle Sam's 'morale boosters.'"

The sketches were left when the Peters bought their Matamoras house.

"People don't usually leave stuff like that behind," Schadt said.

Port Jervis Historian Brian Lewis contributed tools from his collection and from friends' collections, along with razors and other "man-related" items.

Also included will be military uniforms and ration books. Coupons limited the amount of sugar, butter, and even shoes people bought.

The exhibit will also include censored letters, in which words are obscured by black marks made by Red Cross staff, as directed by the U.S. government, Schadt said.

Coffee and doughnuts will be served, just as the Red Cross gave to soldiers, she added.

Parting Glass and Joe Foss will play music, in addition to recordings of Tommy Dorsey and Glenn Miller, and Willard Schadt will play his accordion.